Six Hundred and Eighty-Eight-

For five consecutive days, Wayne carefully observed the preparation progress of "The Lord of the Rings". From the design and production of props, special effects models, armor and costumes, to the half-sized location that had been built outside Wellington, New Zealand, he carefully observed everything. Read it again.

Especially the prototype of Shire, whether viewed from a distance or approaching, it is as moving as a painting, as if you have entered the fantasy world of Middle-earth. From this point of view, Peter Jackson has done a very good job and is fully worthy of being a die-hard "Lord of the Rings" fan.

"When is John Gray coming back from Los Angeles?"

The night before leaving New Zealand, Wayne and Peter Jackson sat on the hotel balcony, chatting over glasses of wine.

It was an unfortunate coincidence that he came here this time. As a producer representing Warner Bros. and Greenberg Studios, John Gray flew back to Los Angeles temporarily.

"It should be soon. I don't know about his work schedule."

Peter Jackson shook his head slightly and responded vaguely, without giving an exact time.

In fact, since arriving in New Zealand, Wayne has already noticed something. As a producer, John Gray, there is a high probability that he will have unpleasant experiences with the future film director at work.

But this is the normal situation for Hollywood crews. Once you join the crew, you must distinguish priorities and rights. For the project "Lord of the Rings", the crew must be centered on the producers.

John Gray is Wayne's old partner and an executive in the Warner Bros. system. His presence is the first factor that makes Wayne and Warner Bros. completely reassure the crew.

"I'll talk to him on the phone."

Holding up the glass of wine, Wayne clinked it with New Zealand Fatty, raised his head and took a big sip and said, "Wait until the beginning of July, when you and John return to Los Angeles together, and we will start auditioning for actors."

"I hope to get casting advice."

When talking about this, Peter Jackson immediately straightened his upper body and stared at Wayne nervously. "You know, I don't want to be left out of auditions, that's not good for filmmaking."

This is by far the biggest concern for big fat New Zealanders. He knew very well that with his qualifications, if he wanted to put forward opinions during actor auditions, he must first obtain the support of the other party. If the other party is unwilling to say hello to producer John Gray, then the producer would definitely exclude him, the director, from all work except filming.

Of course, Peter Jackson is not willing to become a filming machine on his favorite project, and no director is willing.

"I'll say hello to John."

Putting down the wine glass in his hand, Wayne smiled and patted the fat New Zealand man on the shoulder, nodded in agreement.

Since he chooses to trust this fat man, he will not let him become a mascot. He will communicate with John Gray before the official filming of the movie. Everything else is easy to talk about, but during the filming of the movie, he must try not to restrict the hands and feet of this fat man.

Speaking of this guy, Peter Jackson, in his memory, can be called the most miserable among the Hollywood directors. In the eyes of movie fans, he is a parallel import who can't make movies without the "Lord of the Rings" series. In the eyes of Hollywood film companies, he is a bully and a target of exploitation. Even the celebrities he collaborates with are rarely special. Respect him.

This situation is basically unique among Hollywood directors of the same level.

Everyone knows that he earned a huge box office share and director's salary for filming the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, but many people don't know that he ended up fighting with New Line Cinema, the producer of "The Lord of the Rings" After years of litigation, I still haven't received the full remuneration I deserve.

Therefore, we can see a little bit about the ethics of Hollywood movie companies from this incident.

I finally took advantage of the popularity of "The Lord of the Rings" and the Oscar statuette to break into the 20 plus 20 club. However, I only used King Kong and was knocked back to the prototype. In the end, I had to continue to pick up "The Lord of the Rings" of leftovers.

In fact, when he finished filming "King Kong", he couldn't wait to reveal to the media that he almost couldn't help but leave the crew several times because he was made things difficult for Naomi Watts. You know, Peter Jackson was already the Oscar winner for Best Director at that time.

"King Kong", which was finally completed, is quite good in the eyes of movie fans. It has grossed nearly 600 million U.S. dollars at the global box office. No matter how you look at it, it is not considered a failure. Naomi Watts, a late bloomer, also gained the attention of otakus around the world with this film.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of the producer, Universal Pictures, this project is a complete failure. Not only will Peter Jackson be paid a basic salary of 20 million US dollars, but he will also be given a 20% share of the global box office.

At the end of the day, the only one who really made money as a co-writer was the fat guy from New Zealand. Universal Pictures’ huge investment could be said to have all gone to work for him.

This time alone, Hollywood's mainstream film companies will immediately see clearly the ability of New Zealand's Oscar-winning director. It was also this time that he got further and further away from mainstream big-budget projects. There was no other way. Film companies generally had great concerns about hiring him. No one wanted to become the second Universal Pictures.

"Be good Peter, and if you do well during the filming, I will propose to Warner Bros. that you be involved in the post-production of the film."

Before Peter Jackson left, Wayne once again gave him a piece of reassurance, or a piece of cake, which successfully restored the bright smile on his fat face.

"Thank you, thank you." After thanking the New Zealander with a happy face, he turned and left the hotel suite, ending the conversation between the two.

"Nina."

When he was the only one left in the living room, Wayne turned to the assistant and ordered: "Let Jimmy and Colin come to New Zealand as soon as possible. Weta Special Effects Studio owns 35% of the shares and the investment agreement must be signed as soon as possible. When you go back, prepare the 17 million U.S. dollars, and as long as you sign here, you can send it immediately."

The assistant lady sitting on the sofa nodded. "Don't worry, boss, we will definitely get it done within a week."

That's what happened. Facing the 35% share offered by Peter Jackson on behalf of his two friends, Wayne nodded without any hesitation. And this was also the biggest purpose of his personal flight to New Zealand.

In fact, judging from the current era, investing US$17 million in Weta Special Effects Studio is definitely not cheap. But in Wayne's eyes, as long as it continues to develop normally, this is definitely one of the great advantages that is rarely available.

According to statistics from "Forbes", an authoritative North American magazine, among the ten highest-paid public figures in 2022, Peter Jackson unexpectedly ranked first.

When many people mention this great Hollywood director, the first thing that pops up in their minds is doubt, because this guy has really made a living on "The Lord of the Rings" for half his life.

However, in fact, with "The Lord of the Rings", he did not have enough for half a lifetime, but more than enough for several lifetimes. Yes, he was owed salary on the "Lord of the Rings" project, but after the completion of "The Lord of the Rings", it also left him with a huge asset that is most easily overlooked.

Just by selling shares in the special effects company, he can rank first among all workers in the film industry and sports industry in the world. And it can be said that those ranked behind him are all world-renowned artists.

There are Bob Dylan, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Ryan Tedder, the creator of world digital music, Tyler Perry, the black comedy master, Paul Simon, the rock star, and the founder of South Park. Trey Parker, Kanye who sells coconuts all over the world, Dwayne Johnson, the only Hollywood star who can beat the box office in the past ten years, and hip-hop king Jay-Z, etc.

If you look at the people ranked behind him, you can understand the value of this income list, but it is Peter Jackson, a fat man from New Zealand, who has firmly suppressed all these people by selling shares in the special effects studio. Under the body.

From this most intuitive perspective, the value of Weta Special Effects Studio becomes much clearer. Moreover, even if he ignores the value after many years, Wayne will not hesitate to invest, simply because it can grow into one of the three major special effects studios in Hollywood, which is crucial to his future plans.

The trip to New Zealand was over, and early the next morning, Wayne and his team got on the plane back to Los Angeles, preparing to take a short vacation. At this time, in the North American theater market, the scene of you singing and then me appearing is going on.

Starting in early June, the box office of "The Flash" in the theater market began to plummet due to its unique film attributes. But whether it is the media or Hollywood insiders, no one said that this film failed at the box office, even though theater companies have rapidly reduced the scale of its screenings, and even if the daily box office in North America dropped to one million US dollars.

"Godzilla" produced and distributed by Sony Columbia had extremely low box office performance in North America. Even though it worked with Paramount Pictures to squeeze out "The Flash", it ultimately did not stop the decline of this book monster.

It took three weeks for the film to hit over 100 million at the North American box office. Similar to what happened to "The Flash," theater companies quickly scaled back its screenings in early June. This film is destined to become Roland Emmerich's biggest hit. Waterloo.

Sony Columbia executives seem to be hoping that the film will earn more box office, and are still increasing marketing funds despite the extremely unfavorable reputation among movie fans.

It is this abnormal move of Sony Columbia that has caused most of the Hollywood movie companies to be confused. Even the leader of a small company understands the importance of stopping losses immediately. However, Columbia Pictures, one of the six giants, is still throwing money and struggling.

But before the reason for these abnormal behaviors could be found, a movie released on June 5, as a dark horse, strongly suppressed "The Flash" and "Godzilla".

On June 5, 1998, North American time, "The Truman Show", which was praised by film critics but has always been regarded as a genre film by Paramount Pictures, aroused intense social discussion as soon as it was released.

Originally, the focus of Paramount Pictures this year was the sci-fi masterpiece "Collision" that they painstakingly produced. They did not expect that "The Truman Show" would cause huge discussion after its release and grossed 31.54 million in its opening weekend. US dollars.

Moreover, because of the social topics it caused, the subsequent box office performance of the film is very promising. Paramount Pictures responded quickly and immediately increased its investment in promoting the film. Jim Carrey, who has always been known as a comedy star, even more because of This extremely special performance has countless fans.

It must be said that the concept of this film is quite avant-garde. No one understood the term live broadcast in the late 1990s, but it did not prevent countless ordinary people from finding their own shadow in "The Truman Show."

"Am I also living in The Truman World?"

This is the true thought of countless young people who have watched the movie, and it is also the reason why more movie fans go to the theater.

"The Truman Show" took in US$31.54 million from the North American theater market in the first three days of its release. Unexpected by everyone outside, it powerfully won the first weekend box office championship.

Everything seems to be just the beginning. Entering the working day, "The Truman Show" is still the dominant player in the theater market. This film, which has caused countless fans to reflect, followed its excellent performance in the first weekend and once again won the weekly box office championship the following weekend. Ten days after the film was released, the North American box office exceeded 90 million US dollars, making it the first batch of box office in this summer season. Dark horse.

As Paramount Pictures continued to promote and wanted to further increase the North American box office, another high-profile movie, two weeks after the release of "The Truman Show", attracted the attention of countless media and movie fans. The premiere was held below.

At 7 pm on June 19th, North American time, a long red carpet was rolled out in front of the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Hundreds of media reporters gathered at the scene, and a large number of movie fans crowded on the red carpet waving movie posters. both sides.

It seemed like a grand premiere, but the starlight was extremely dim. Not many big names in the industry came to the stage today. The only thing that excited fans and the media was Wayne who was the first to walk on the red carpet alone. .

"Mr. Greenberg, why would you invest in the production of a female film? What do you think of the outside world's disapproval of "Charlie's Angels"?"

"Wayne, what are your expectations for "Charlie's Angels"? Can you talk about your original intention of making this film..."

"Hey, Wayne, there has been news from the outside that the reason you invested in "Charlie's Angels" was because of certain actresses..."

When Wayne first stepped into the media interview area, the reporters were like sharks asking about the smell of blood, and they immediately surrounded him. All kinds of questions were thrown at him instantly.

In fact, the media has been speculating about "Charlie's Angels" since the pre-release publicity. In today's Hollywood, a commercial film starring entirely actresses is really too unusual to be considered. Don't make people curious.

But no one in this circle is aware of the risks of films from a female perspective. Hollywood’s decades of experience and lessons have been telling film companies and investors that commercial films shot purely from a female perspective have never gained market recognition.

"Hey, hey, hey, gentlemen."

Facing the questions thrown by reporters, Wayne frowned, raised his hands and lowered his hands, indicating that everyone should listen to him. "Come one by one, okay?"

"Director Greenberg, I am Chandler Wesker, a reporter from The New York Times." A reporter standing in front raised his hand and asked loudly: "Can you talk about why you invested in such a project?" A movie? There is news that you are here for the three "hot girls" in the movie, is that true?"

After hearing the reporter's question, the scene immediately returned to silence, and all reporters were waiting for his answer. Wayne smiled at everyone, pondered for a moment, and then said to the microphone and dozens of recorders in front of him: "First of all, I have to declare that the reason why I wrote this script and invested in filming the film , the only purpose is that fans will like it, this is very important."

Although this answer made most people present secretly curl their lips, no one was stupid enough to interrupt him at this time.

"I personally think that from the birth of the art form of movies to the present, there has not been any movie that can please all movie fans. There is a question that countless people have discussed, what is a good movie? In my understanding Among them, a good movie is a movie that most movie fans like, just like my "Batman: The Dark Knight", just like "The Flash" which is still in theaters.

Yes, what I want to say is that "Charlie's Angels" is also a wonderful and good movie. I am confident that it will be loved by movie fans. This is the only reason to invest in this movie. "

Just as he finished speaking, another reporter asked: "Wayne, there are no commercial films in Hollywood that are purely from a female perspective. So far, there have been no blockbuster hits at the box office. Can you talk about it?" What you expect from this movie at the box office.”

""Charlie's Angels" will be the box office champion this weekend." The moment he heard this question, he immediately answered confidently.

"Wayne, the North American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released a list of the 100 Greatest Movies of the Century, and you have two of the top ten films. People from all walks of life have different opinions on this list, questioning the Academy... ..”

"Man, please ask me a Charlie's Angels-related question, okay?"

Before the reporter could finish his words, Wayne waved directly to the crowd, indicating that he refused to answer questions that had nothing to do with the movie.

In fact, the popularity of the 100-year-old Top 100 Movies list has never passed until now. The most controversial point in this list is that Wayne has powerfully occupied two top ten positions. When the list was first released, it happened that he flew to the East, and this was the target of countless reporters' interviews today.

However, he did not give reporters a chance, and then briefly talked about his expectations for "Charlie's Angels" and followed the on-site staff out of the media interview area.

"'Charlie's Angels' has attracted a lot of attention. Now I just hope that this film will not disappoint the work done by Warner Brothers."

In the lounge on the second floor of the Chinese Center for the Performing Arts, Bruce Rosenblum, who had entered early, hugged Wayne and whispered in his ear.

"Don't worry, you should trust my vision."

After sitting down, Wayne tilted his head and lit a cigarette and said: "It is also a movie from a female perspective. Some people make literary films where they take off their clothes, but what I want is a commercial film that meets the aesthetics of the mainstream market! Use movies to make money, To make countless male movie fans willingly pay for it, this is the difference between me and other producers!"

"Bruce."

He took a deep drag on the cigarette and let the smoke blow out of his nose. Holding a cigarette between his fingers, he nodded to Naomi Watts who was walking on the red carpet from a distance, and continued: "You should understand me. My principle for movies is whether it should be done based on profit. From the perspective of risk, whether it should be a gamble, from the perspective of ability, whether they are worth my investment, and from the perspective of results, can it bring me greater benefits!

Rather than listening to those so-called Hollywood experiences, let these experiences tell me whether I am doing the right thing or not! Bruce, you should understand the reason why I do this. If "Charlie's Angels" achieves ideal results, it will not only bring those damn benefits to me, but also bring enough markets to the subsequent "Wonder Woman" Response survey data! "

Bruce Rosenblum shrugged, looked at the bustling red carpet in front of the theater from the window, and did not continue to speak for a while.

"The Flash" has so far earned 270 million U.S. dollars at the North American box office and more than 230 million U.S. dollars at the overseas box office. As a DC film, in order to introduce the next two important characters, it can be said that it has completed its task perfectly. .

And this is far from the end of the box office for "The Flash". The summer season is still very long, and the movie has been in theaters for a long time. Can this film, which uses audio and video special effects as its selling point, exceed 300 million US dollars at the North American box office? No one would be stupid enough to question this matter.

"The Ronin Begins with Douluo"

Now the attention of Warner Bros. executives has actually been placed on DC's two subsequent movies, one of which is the top priority Wonder Woman.

However, one problem that cannot be avoided is that Wonder Woman Diana Prince, no matter how popular she is, is still a female character. Movies and comics are two completely different carriers. A movie shot with an absolutely female character and a comic with a female character face completely different acceptance levels from consumer groups.

As a result, everyone's eyes were unanimously focused on "Charlie's Angels". No matter what kind of results this film achieves, subsequent detailed market research can provide a lot of experience for the production of Wonder Woman, whether it is success experience or failure experience.

"Let's go down."

It didn't take long, and the three heroines all walked on the red carpet at once. Since the distributor, Warner Bros., did not invite any guests from the industry, the entire red carpet process was relatively faster. Wayne greeted and took the lead towards the screening room.

After the two came to the screening room, Bruce Rosenblum first saw the three heroines of the movie, Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie and Naomi Watts , all of them were talking to each other with smiles.

"Seriously, man." Warner Bros.'s distribution director raised his arm and poked Wayne next to him. He came closer mysteriously and deliberately lowered his voice and joked: "How on earth did you manage the three of them? You know Well, the fact that the film was successfully completed without these three women breaking up the crew is the unsolved mystery of the world to me!"

"Want to know? Bruce."

With a mysterious look on his face, Wayne raised his hand and patted Bruce Rosenblum's shoulder. Under the curious gaze, he solemnly whispered:

"I'm Wayne, I'm rich!"

“m**her f**ker?!”

Bruce Rosenblum stood there and cursed, watching the man who claimed to be Batman hugging three sexy women one after another, and then sat in the middle of the first row with a proud look on his face.

However, unlike what others imagined, after Wayne sat down, he didn't even look at the three women around him. He didn't even notice when the lights were turned off. He just stared at the opening animation that had appeared in his mind. I kept thinking about the next "big plan" on my desk!

"Wonder Woman", "Superman", and even later "Justice League"! After several years of brewing and several years of preparation, if nothing unexpected happens next, he will tell the entire Hollywood, and even the entire world, how he created a big scene!